quiet Christmas morning

I’m sitting here in my living room enjoying the calm before the storm. It’s a little after 6 am and I’ve been up for about an hour (thanks to my husband needing a bathroom break). I’m blaming it on my pregnancy hormones. Once I’m awake in the mornings, it’s hard to go back to sleep. When I’m not pregnant, I don’t seem to have that issue. Anyway, I’m glad I woke up early, because I had time to read a little bit of the upcoming Sunday school lesson for the week and say a good long Christmas prayer. I don’t have quiet time with God nearly enough, so it was a blessing waking up early.

This morning, I gave thanks for all the many blessings God has given me and my family. I’m amazed at all the gifts my son has received for Christmas and what we’re able to provide for him on the money we make. I prayed for my friends and family, that they would be blessed throughout the coming year. I prayed that this unborn, 10 week old baby in my belly would be healthy and all would go well. I asked prayer for those mentioned in church Sunday, for there were many. I requested to be made more whole each day so people will see Jesus through me and know Him better.

Our upcoming Sunday school lesson is “Sin is no longer your master; Christ is.” and the scripture is coming from Romans 6:8-18. There was one point that really spoke to me this morning and it came from Augustine, a 4th-5th century theologian. He pointed out that after salvation, humans are “able not to sin.” This is the exact text from the Sunday school book that I liked so much…”Do Christians still sin? Yes. But now, we have the ability to overcome sin and to grow in righteousness – the life we live to God! We do not have to give in. As we mature spiritually, we will sin less and less. And in the process, we will show the world our life-changing God.” Now, isn’t that promising? I got a kick out of the “key word” they focused on this week. It is “reckon”. Now, around here, we say “I reckon it’s time to go to bed” (or anything else we think we best do). Their definition is “an imperative that may also mean to be of opinion, to believe.” See, we hick people aren’t as uneducated as you make us out to be! 😉

It won’t be long and my son will be waking up for the day. He’s not quite two and he actually may surprise us by sleeping in a bit later since he went to bed a bit late last night. We had a family dinner at 6 pm yesterday and didn’t get home until his bed time. I’ll just say he was over stimulated by all the gifts, people, and food (I guess there were 40 or more people there) and it was a tearful winding down. He just had so much to play with that he was overwhelmed, poor kid. But, I’m excited about him getting up this morning to Santa’s gift. I’m especially excited about this tent we got him! One thing that’s not in the picture is one of our dogs, Cujo. I totally forgot my husband let him in last night and it took me a few minutes to realize he was out cold on the couch.

It’s kind of dark, but this is what my living room looks like this morning.

My stomach is growling…I put this great breakfast dish in the slow cooker last night since my mom and her husband are coming over for breakfast. Who wants to cook on Christmas morning? They are bringing his really good gravy and I’m popping canned biscuits into the oven when they arrive. I might have to have an appetizer since I’m up so early. 🙂

I hope you have a very, merry Christmas full of family, love, and peace. Know that the best gift of all was given to us many, many years ago as a tiny baby boy. The baby that would give us all the hope of eternity in heaven. Blessings to you and yours.

pinterest – what a nice time suck

I just spent almost an hour pinning ideas for repainting some old dressers and shelves I have for our new house. Here is the fruit of my labor – http://www.pinterest.com/mntriveggies/new-house-decorating-ideas/. I thought I pinned like 20 pictures, but there are only 8 right now. Geesh. I can see how people spend hours doing this stuff. I gave up Facebook last year when the whole Chic-Fil-A thing erupted and I’ve not done much social media since.

I think I’m going to paint one dresser solid green like the one below and put it in my son’s room. That’s his favorite (and really only) color to say at this point…”GEEN!”

Isn’t it pretty?

Anyhoo, it’s time for bed. And, I’m gonna beat me a dog if it doesn’t lie down and go to sleep! (Not really, but I have stuck my head out the door and chased him off the porch a few times). 🙂

 

front yard workout

I’m at home with a sick kid today. Thankfully, it’s just a sneeze and runny nose with low fever. We went to a birthday party Friday night and my son kidnapped another kid’s sippy cup. Before I noticed what was going on, he was drinking out of the kid’s cup. Said kid had an awful runny nose, so I’m thinking that’s where it came from. And I was just bragging on how healthy my son has been all year. He had RSV back in January but has been feeling fine since. I should have known better, huh?!

And my phone isn’t working today for some stupid reason. I am on the Straight Talk plan and it normally works fine, but this morning, I’ve only been able to text my husband. He ended up calling my work for me to tell them I wasn’t coming in today. Doesn’t that sound like a cop out?

Yesterday was a good day off (my normal day off during the week). I took my son and had lunch with a friend. She gave him lots of Halloween treats (books and toys) and even bought me a pretty new bowl for my kitchen. She knows we’re getting ready to dive into the house thing and she wanted me to have something new. It was very sweet. The bowl is glass, but it’s painted with something in teal and gold. Very pretty.

I did a quick workout in my yard yesterday evening since my other friend couldn’t go for a bike ride. This is what I did in maybe 20 minutes….

• Walked to mailbox to warm up (I had letters to mail)
• Ran from the swing set to the gate and back twice (I estimate 50-75 yards)
• 20 squats
• Repeated the run
• 10 jumping squats followed by 20 alternating lunges
• Repeated run
• 20 bench dips
• 50 jumping jacks
• 20 modified push ups (I can only do the girly ones well)
• Repeated run
• 20 crunches followed by 10 reach crunches on each side (at this point, the dogs were all over me trying to get some love!)
• ran around house 5 times
• one minute plank
• Walked to in-laws house to pick up son and stretched

My left hamstring is sore this morning, but it’s probably because I was a lazy bum most of the weekend. Plus, my shoes are worn out and the ground was uneven. I normally workout on the wooden floor. I have ordered new shoes that will be here soon. My favorite Sauconys are years old, so I have a new pair coming. I hope they are just as comfy!

My new shoes are on their way!

women’s shapes, dha, and intellegence (and a leaf collection)

Someone left a copy of “Psychology Today” magazine at the gym where I work and I read about 75% of it (most of the time, I look at the images and skim the content). The entire magazine was very interesting, especially this one article about the shape of a woman (figure, not health).  Some of the interesting information I gathered from this article included:

• Most of the DHA in a mother’s breast milk comes what she has stored over the years in her lower body fat (hips, thighs, etc.)
• The first child gets the most DHA from the mother which is why first born children tend to be more intelligent than their siblings.
• Curvier women have more DHA  stored in their body fat which tends to lead to the women and her children being smarter
• American women generally have less DHA in their bodies than other countries because of our increased consumption of Omega-6 fat instead of omega-3 fats.
  • Get this: “feeding farm animals corn instead of allowing them to graze on their natural diet of grass also increases omega-6 while reducing omega-3 in meat, milk products, and eggs.” Yet another reason to eat NATURAL or ORGANIC meats and dairy products. (I am getting 3 more chickens and a turkey from the local farm soon so I’m really trying hard!)

I never had put that much thought into DHA before. I saw it on the organic milk carton, but didn’t really think it mattered that much. The article also mentioned how important it is for children to have a lot of DHA in their first two years of life due to rapid growth of their brains.

Some other neat info I picked up from the magazine:

• More folks worked together to complete a puzzle when they were only given chairs rather than a table (the folks with a table didn’t work together at all!)
• To be more creative, stand and don’t sit.
• There’s a syndrome that affects kids called PANS (Pediatric acute-onset Neuropsychiatric Syndrome) where kids wake up one morning with anxiety, emotional meltdowns and more. There can also be an onset of OCD following a case of strep throat. Isn’t that crazy?!

On another note, I took a nature walk today. My son is spending the night with his great aunt and my husband was piddling around the house, so I took off with one of my dogs and my cat. We had a nice little stroll and I took some pictures. The photos don’t do justice for the beautiful scenery, but I thought you might enjoy some of my “leaf collection” (remember those projects from elementary school?).

Sassafras

Sassafras

Oak

Dogwood

Maple

Maple and Poplar

Oak

Morning Glory

good, lazy monday

Monday is my day off during the week and it seems like most of the time, I find something to do. It was hard for me to make myself stay at home today and not “do” anything or go anywhere. I find myself getting in a routine of thinking I have to go somewhere, even if it’s to the grocery store or something. So, my son and I have spent the entire day together enjoying this cool, fall day. I even took a good nap! I feel guilty about that now that I have a child, but then I think “You’ve earned it, girl.” 🙂

I recently read a blog post about not needing to live at a frantic pace. If you find yourself overwhelmed or without much time, you should check it out. Granted, my situation is different than a lot of folks – I have a husband who insists on cleaning, so that lessens my load quite a bit. But it got me to thinking, why can’t more husbands do like mine does? Both of us work, so if I stayed at home, I would feel like taking more of the load, but he does so much. That lets me have more free time and it lends to a happier marriage, I think.

Well, let’s go feed this meowing cat…one of the hardest things I plan to do all day!

Our big, black cat Shady

a tribute to Nana and a beautiful summer day

Today, we buried my husband’s grandmother, Joan Sparks. She was 80 years old and passed away on Sunday, July 21. She loved golf, among many other things and she was a big part of my husband’s family. Over the past 10 years of our marriage, I had traveled the hour and a half to Roanoke to see her and his aunt Diane a few times each year. I didn’t know her nearly well enough, but I know she was loved by her family and she loved them back.

I found this picture from 2004 when my mother-in-law and I visited some of her relatives. I thought it would be appropriate to share today in remembrance of “Nana”. She will be missed by many.

That’s me in the back row, far left, then Nana, then her daughter (my husband’s aunt Diane) to the right. I can’t recall the other’s names except for my mother-in-law Belvia seated in front of me. They all look very much alike!

This evening, we visited a friend nearby and I got some good pictures of my son playing and exploring. Before we left to visit, we found a praying mantis on our back steps. It was kind enough to let me take its picture.

My son checking out the praying mantis.

The close up shot of our green friend

My son heading for the tractor…he had just finished messing with Barney, the cat.

That’s a big tractor tire and a small boy.

My son and his grandma talking to the dog Highway.

“Look at the fish!”

i just saw a mouse! in my house!

So, I could tell we had a mouse (or maybe mice) in our back room where we keep our cat food. I had seen its little droppings here and there and had been meaning to do something about it for a while. Well, I just walked back to the room, flipped on the light and something was moving out of the corner of my eye. It was that mouse! It ran under the closet door. I didn’t scream, but I made this weird noise and ran into the other room to tell my husband.

He came back into the room with me and I opened the closet door to get what I came into the room for in the first place. There’s that darn mouse sitting on my bookshelf, peering at me with its beady eyes! I exclaimed, “There it is!” and then it hid again. Then, it jumped from the shelf into my gift wrapping supplies and who knows where the heck it is now.

I’m going to get one of those catch and release traps and see if I can get it, then turn it loose in the woods. I can’t stand the thought of killing the poor thing. It was cute. I texted my sister to tell her about my finding and she simply stated in her reply “Let Shady in.” That’s my cat.

peonies

Peonies have to be my favorite flower. I love their delicate, paper thin petals and their sweet, soft fragrance. I have one growing at the end of our driveway, but it only has two blossoms. Across the road, there is an abandon house where I pick their peonies. Today, my son and I picked a few and put them in a pint jar on our table. The ants like them, too. We ended up with a few ants in the house, but who cares?!

Here’s some other random happenings here recently…

• My husband and I sat on our porch until after 10 pm last night just talking and watching the sun go down. The lightning bugs came out for a show and the whiporwill sang her unmistakable melody.
• Made a cake called “Preacher’s Delight” today. I’ve been craving pineapple and coconut (no, I’m not pregnant), and I found this recipe. Oh, my. It hit the spot and is SO good! I used coconut cake mix instead of white and I mixed crushed pineapple into the cool whip. I think next time, I may use pineapple cake mix. I’ve not been eating sweets during the week, but I’m allowing myself sweets on the weekend. Trying to lose a couple of pounds before my triathlon in a few weeks as well as show sugar I’m boss!
• I shaved 5 seconds off my 100 yard freestyle time! I had timed myself a month ago and then timed myself again this week and I’m 5 seconds faster than before. This 9 week tri training program is working well! Lots of intervals, but it’s making me stronger and faster, I can tell. Only 3 weeks till the triathlon. I have to do some bricks in the next two weeks to get my legs ready.
• My 16 month old son ate broccoli and LIKED IT! I got him on video eating, smiling, and yumming so I can convince him later on down the road that he DOES like broccoli.
• Oh, and I took a bath with my son and a peony today. He had picked one and decided to take it to the bath tub. It held up really well!

Well, that’s enough for today. I’m going to finish this evening sitting here on my porch, watching the cat eat and listening to the birds as they wind down for the night.

scooby

Preface: I’m not blogging about this to toot my own horn. This was an adventure for me and I wanted to share the details…

Last Friday, I was on my way home from work when I saw an unusual object on the side of the road. At first, I thought it must be a black trash bag or tarp, but after closer inspection, I realized it was a dog sitting on the bank. I frowned, because I didn’t want to think about him getting run over by a car. On the other hand, I had told my husband I’d be right home, so I thought I would keep driving. “It will be fine” I told myself. Well, 1/2 mile up the road, I turned around. The dog was still sitting in the same spot, looking scared. So what did I do? Pulled off and got out.

I said “Hey, buddy. How are you?” and he looked at me skeptically. Then, those ears dropped and the tail wagged and he came hurrying toward me. He was a friendly black and brown dog and one eye was half blue (sign of a Husky). Thankfully, he had a collar with tags. The one tag was a military dog tag with a number on it (I thought phone number). I dialed the number, but it had been disconnected. He had the county dog tags, so I figured we could find his owners that way. So, the plan was to take him home and lock him up in our fenced in yard until I could find his owner.

About 2 minutes down the road with this dog as my passenger (sweet thing trying to crawl all over my lap), I realized my three dogs would go crazy with this new dog around. I remembered at the local sheriff’s office there were dog lots with dog houses, so I thought those must be holding pens for stray dogs until the animal control could get there. So, I turned around, yet again, and headed back toward town.

When I got to the sheriff’s office, I learned that those cages are for their service dogs, not for lost and found. They said I’d have to call animal control and wait for him to call me back. I was frustrated. But, then I realized it was 4:30 and the Treasurer’s Office should still be open and they could track him down by his county dog tag number. Genius!

So, I had to leave the poor pooch in my car and he wanted out so badly when I got out. I asked the lady if she could tell me the owner’s information based on the tag number and year. She had his name, but no phone number, but she had a phone book. Thankfully, the owner’s information was listed in the book, so I gave them a call. I told the lady I had her dog and would bring him to them, so she gave me her address. Also, I asked the dog’s name. It’s Scooby.

So, I drove ol’ Scooby home, talking to him the whole way. “We’re almost there boy. Just 5 more minutes.” When we were almost to his house, I saw a HUGE snapping turtle that had just crossed the road. It was neat!

I got to Scooby’s house and his owners were outside waiting. Scooby jumped out the car and you could tell he was home sweet home. I talked to the owners and told them my rescue story. The man laughed at me when I told him I’d tried to dial the number on the dog tag. He said that was his military ID and not a phone number. We talked for a few minutes about who we were and the little dog I’d rescued and he ended up giving me $20 for bringing his dog home.

The man was amazed that I’d gone through all that trouble to bring his dog back, but I would hope someone would do that for me. I believe every good deed you do in life is rewarded…if not in this life, then in the next!

What “tags” are we missing?

My son Ezra has had this infant seat his entire 4 1/2 month life – he loves it. It has this giraffe and elephant that hang down so he can reach and grab them. I’ve watched him evolve over the past several months – at first, just sitting in the chair, then reaching out for the animals and now he grabs them and studies them carefully. A few days ago, he discovered something that I had even overlooked – there is a tag hanging to the right of his elephant. A little, fabric tag that gives instructions on how to care for the chair. All this time, neither of us had noticed it, and now that’s the first thing he reaches for.

It led me to wonder how many “tags” we miss in our daily lives. How often do we see the same BIG things and miss the small, less obvious items in our lives? One example I can think of is rainbows…when it’s pouring the rain, do you complain or do you try to find the rainbow? Another example are the quiet people in our lives that we bypass daily because the more friendly our outgoing person is easier to see.

I challenge you to stop and think about the “tags” you are missing out in your own life…

On a totally unrelated note, someone has put a flea collar on our cat! Saturday morning, I fed him and he had no flea collar. Then, Saturday evening, on our way out the driveway, here comes Shady with a flea collar on! Kind of made me feel like a bad pet owner, but I appreciate the neighbor that took it upon themselves to do that. 🙂